By:Laura Lane
Lenhart, who served as the North Merrick School District's assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and personnel for the past 17 years, died Sept. 7. She was 68.
Lenhart, of Wantagh, learned she had liver cancer over the summer and underwent surgery at Sloane-Kettering Memorial Hospital in Manhattan. She died a few weeks later.
She led an adventurous life, but her greatest passion was education. Many said her work in the North Merrick School District was groundbreaking. "Irene was involved in everything of importance in the district. She's going to be missed," said David Feller, North Merrick schools superintendent. "In her role in hiring personnel, she set extremely high standards as for who would qualify. And she has left her mark. When I asked teachers at this year's staff opening-day ceremony to stand if Irene was responsible for them being hired, almost all stood up."
Feller said Lenhart had an extraordinary work ethic, and displayed great energy for any project. "She was the first in in the morning, as early as 7:30, and the last out, usually around 8 p.m.," Feller said. "When things came up, she was the kind of person who took it all on."
Lenhart began her career as a teacher of the deaf at Mill Neck Manor. "Irene loved children, but she especially loved mischievous children. She taught the high-school children at Mill Neck, which she saw as fun," said long-time friend Heidi Heinser-Quartuccio. "Irene was like that mischievous child herself behind everything."
Heinser-Quartuccio recalled Lenhart telling her about one child at Mill Neck whom she had been warned about. "He was a real cutup, a problem child, and the teachers and staff were afraid of him," Heinser-Quartuccio said. "Irene put him in line. She commanded respect from everyone. That boy wound up being one of her closest friends."
Art Solnick, the Camp Avenue Elementary School principal, said Lenhart was a genuine workaholic who could and would do anything to better students' lives. "Irene couldn't stop, so when you asked her to do something, it was always yes," Solnick said. "She always took on numerous tasks. I think they're going to need two people to replace her."
Solnick worked with Lenhart on the North Merrick district's science curriculum. "Irene always had ideas, and was up to date on the current trends. She was a wizard on the computer," he said.
A frequent traveler to exotic islands, Lenhart was an expert scuba diver and parasailor, and she loved to swim. Committed to physical fitness, she continued to wear a bikini at 68. Some say she looked better than most of the women on the beach. And Lenhart dressed impeccably, wearing the latest fashions and high heels.
Dr. Estelle Kamler, a former North Merrick superintendent who worked with Lenhart, said the assistant superintendent's fastidious appearance matched her work ethic. "Irene was beautiful inside and out. Her hair and nails were always perfect, but to Irene, perfect was the only acceptable way to conduct business," Kamler said. "Inquisitive, perfectionist, daredevil, fun-loving are too few adjectives to describe the individual who touched each of us."
Born in Germany, Lenhart moved with her family to Glendale, N.Y., when she was a child. When she was 15, she learned that her mother was dying. Committed to caring for her, Lenhart quickly finished high school. She earned a full scholarship to Pace University in New York City.
After completing her undergraduate degree, Lenhart discovered her calling in education. She earned her master's at Columbia Teachers College, and her doctorate at Hofstra. For years Columbia asked her to speak to student-teachers, who found her inspiring. She also mentored aspiring and beginning teachers at Pace, Columbia and Hofstra, where she was a liaison between college professors and school districts that worked with the student- teachers.
"Mentoring new teachers was something Irene really enjoyed and found important," Heinser-Quartuccio said. "Students used to say, 'This is something I'd like to achieve so I can show it to Irene.' She raised the bar."
Lenhart was an accomplished vocalist who sang solos in her church choir. She took lessons for years with a voice teacher who sang with the Metropolitan Opera. "Irene was a very warm and friendly person, willing to help others and donate her time at our church," Martin Nale, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Wantagh, recalled. "She was a person who gave of herself and did so much here, even though she gave so much to the schools."
That she excelled at everything she tried wasn't surprising to those who knew Lenhart. She brought the spirit of a perfectionist to everything she accomplished. Some describe her as relentless.
Traditionally, schools complete grant applications in the summer, which, Feller said, is always difficult and time-consuming. Lenhart was in charge of completing grant applications each year, and even though she was ill, she did so this summer. "Irene insisted she work on the grants after her surgery. One week after she came home from the hospital, she finished it," Feller said. "And up until her death, she was working at home, even though she was very sick, as she tried to recover from the surgery."
Lenhart was continually busy, yet she found the time to remember someone's birthday or a special accomplishment, or buy a gift during the holidays. "Dr. Lenhart wasn't only generous with gifts and flowers, but also of herself," said Debbie Allen, her secretary. "She was in the office day and night, and I never knew how Dr. Lenhart could find the time to buy that perfect gift for everyone, but she did."
Lenhart died on the first day of school. "Although Irene loved life and was a person who was adventurous and loved a challenge, she was most of all an educator," Heinser-Quartuccio said. "She would never have left education, and she never planned to retire."
Dr. Lenhart is survived by her husband of 46 years, William; a sister, Rudy, and two nieces, Sonia and Marlin.
